The site consists of residential properties on five parcels that total approximately 0.84 acre and are situated on Morse Street in the Town of Hamden, Connecticut. The site is located within a residential area believed to be partly underlaid by landfill materials, which were suspected of being a contaminant source. During the 1940's and 1950's, different areas of the abutting Hamden Middle School property were reportedly used for the disposal of household and industrial wastes. Since approximately 1979, the Town of Hamden, the State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have conducted several environmental investigations at the Hamden Middle School athletic fields, and have documented elevated levels of metals including lead, arsenic, mercury, and chromium. In addition, some low levels of volatile organic compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds below current Connecticut Remediation Standard Regulations were detected in and near a surface depression area on the school fields. Since December 2000, the State has been responding to perceived (by residents) health issues suspected of being caused by the landfill. The fact that the neighborhood had been built over a landfill was resurrected when sampling related to an expansion of Hamden Middle School revealed contamination from the underlying landfill on school property. The State’s initial work focused on defining health conditions (found acceptable) at the Hamden Middle School, sampling soccer and baseball fields and conducting depth sampling in the residential area right-of-ways to determine the extent of landfill materials. The Town placed clean fill over a small contaminated area adjacent to the school. In April 2001 and at the request of the State, EPA conducted an investigation of surface soil contamination on three (3) residential areas neighboring the Middle School that were suspected of being located over the landfill. EPA identified an area that included the back yards of three (3) residential properties with contamination from the landfill of up to18,000 parts per million (ppm) lead in the surface soil. In order to eliminate short term exposure threats posed to public health or welfare or the environment, based on the high levels of lead in surface soils, EPA initiated a time-critical removal action in August 2001.

EPA mobilized to the site and conducted additional sampling and on-site analyses to fully define areas of surface soil contamination that will require removal; completed preparation of a site soil removal plan; identified backyard areas of two (2) additional residential properties with surface soil contamination of up to 43,900 ppm lead that have been added to the soil removal plan; excavated and removed approximately 75 tons of contaminated surface soils; and staged pending shipment for off-site disposal.Photos